SWINDON swimmer Craig Harris insists claiming 100m breaststroke gold at the Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games is the perfect start to a busy season.

The School Games saw more than 1,600 talented school children from across the nation descend on Manchester to compete in 12 sports across four action-packed days last week.

Harris, who was representing England South, was one of the stars in the pool after he clocked an impressive time of 1:15.73 minutes to claim 100m breaststroke glory.

It was a time that was more than nearly 15 seconds better than his closest competitor and the 15-year-old was delighted with his showing.

“It was a really good race from me – I was up against a lot of tough competitors but it went well. So, I’m pleased,” said Harris.

“Coming in I just wanted to get close to my PB and see how fit I was after the summer break, so a gold medal is a great start to the year.

“This has been the perfect preparation for upcoming events and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season.”

The Sainsbury’s School Games is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, helping to launch the careers of many British athletes, including Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds.

Following in the footsteps of so many famous faces who have competed at the event, Harris is looking to follow in their tracks and push his career onto the next level.

“My aim for this season is to perform well at the trials and qualify make the team for the World Championships in Glasgow in 2015 - then hopefully I can medal there,” he added.

“The School Games are good because it’s a multi-sport event and gets you used to staying in a village with other athletes.

“It also gets you used to dealing with problems that you might face at bigger championships, so it’s great.

“I’ve learned that if there is some sort of delay or something does happen that it’s important not to let it faze you. It has really helped with my preparation.”

The Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games, which is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, was held in venues across Manchester from 4-7 September 2014. Visit www.2014schoolgames.com for more information.